Hard-Boiled Fiction: A Fusion of Noir and Detective Fiction

Abstract

: Hard-boiled fiction is a type of detective fiction widespread in America. It is written in gruff, unsentimental language, introducing a new tone of earthy realism or naturalism to the detective fiction genre. Hard-boiled fiction is characterized with brutal sex and violence, a vivid but often despicable metropolitan setting, and fast-paced, slangy language. Hard-boiled fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction that combines noir and American detective fiction within a well-defined framework. Hard-boiled fiction traces its detective fictional style to three writers: James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett. Mostly in the context of brutality, this crime novel explores a difficult fatalistic attitude about emotions.